Emergency Management

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Research from the Department of Emergency Management. The department website may be found at https://www.ndsu.edu/emgt/

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Browsing Emergency Management by Subject "Emergency management -- Planning"

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    The Context and Concept of Individual and Household Preparedness: The Case of Fako Division in Cameroon
    (North Dakota State University, 2015) Nojang, Emmanuel Nzengung
    Almost every day, we see and hear about disasters impacting individuals and households in communities worldwide. Impacts experienced include loss of life and injury, loss of property, and more. Disasters are often devastating for those who experience them. It is for this reason that preparedness is advocated by national and international organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United Nations. And, it is for this reason that researchers have often attempted to assess how prepared people are. Yet, what is this thing they call preparedness? What does it look like? What is involved in becoming a wholly prepared person? One might have assumed that organizations like FEMA and researchers would have addressed these fundamental questions prior to recommending that people become prepared or measuring how prepared people are, but that is not the case. The absence of an understanding of what preparedness is and entails is a critical theoretical gap with significant practical implications. This research explored the basic issue of what preparedness means and entails to people in Fako Division, Cameroon—a place threated by many hazards and which has experienced many disasters. From the analysis of the 33 interviews conducted in this study, the researcher found that preparedness is a dynamic state of readiness that is dependent on context, a social process, and a process of completing activities to save lives and minimize the effects of disasters. In addition, the researcher found that Cameroonians view a wholly prepared person as a) one who would have knowledge about hazards and what to do about them, b) one who would engage others, including their families and neighbors, in discussions about activities related to hazards and what to do about them, and c) one who would engage in activities to minimize loss from hazards, sustain themselves in the face of hazards, and flee from hazards. The findings from the interview data synch to a large extent with what is implied, but not clearly stated, in the existing research literature. The researcher address this synchrony and posit a definition of preparedness and identify the theoretical components of preparedness.
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    Informal Material Convergence Behavior and Emergency Management: Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth
    (North Dakota State University, 2013) Cole-Corde, Aleczandre Nikoluas
    Informal material convergence behavior is the spontaneous movement of unsolicited donations from donors to emergency management for disaster relief activities. This behavior is widely accepted as an appropriate social response after disasters. However, this behavior frequently results in excessive amounts of unsolicited donations which create numerous problems for emergency management. Most donors appear unaware of the issues associated with contributing unsolicited donations. The challenge is to reeducate the media and the public about what are considered the appropriate types of donations to contribute for disaster survivors. Informal material convergence behavior is a problem that can be resolved through social-psychological approaches. Social-psychological research can be used in donation strategies to help solve this problem. This includes incorporating persuasive techniques into hazard awareness messaging, using technology and social media to convey the messaging, and conducting more disaster research and monitoring to ascertain if messaging is received, interpreted, and acted upon as intended.